Unquiet: A tribute to the founder of Kenya’s trade union movement

Makhan Singh is considered the father of the trade union movement in Kenya. In 1935, he formed the Labour Trade Union of Kenya, and in 1949, the East African Trade Union Congress. In this article, a foreword to ‘Unquiet: The Life and Times of Makhan Singh’ by Zarina Patel, Steve Ouma and Makau Mutua remember Singh and what his life means for present-day political life in Kenya.

Makhan Singh is among a select pantheon of Indian settlers who not only made Africa home but also became leading anti-colonial freedom fighters. But what distinguished Singh from many legendary leaders – including even the great Mahatma Gandhi – was the conscious multiracialism of his politics. He refused to accept a trade union movement segregated by race and poisoned by the colonial apartheid that classified black Africans and Asians in a humiliating hierarchy. He demonstrated for the first time in colonized Kenya that Asians and black Africans were bound in the same fate and that their liberation was inextricably linked. In this powerful example, he properly argued that both colonialism and imperialism were the enemies of the people. That is why Singh’s enduring legacy to Kenya must continue to be the basis for construction of a society free of exploitation and racial animus.

Singh’s political work in the trade union movement was a response to the repressive colonial state generally, and the labor law regime in particulars. Under the colonial state – and its post-colonial successor – Kenya was imprisoned in labor laws that were designed to cheapen and exploit so-calledthe labour from the natives labor. This was the trend worldwide in the relationship between labor and capital. No wonder workers have been at the forefront of the human rights struggle over the centuries. This epic biography of Singh demonstrates how the struggle for the rights of workers was planted in Kenya. In it, Zarina Patel, an indefatigable Kenyan freedom fighter herself, has comprehensively analyzed how Singh created the building blocks and pillars of the trade union movement in Kenya.At the

The life of Makhan Singh is an object lesson on how class formation developed in Kenya. It is a powerful example of worker s solidarity based on both racial and class-consciousness. Even though Asians were economically stratified, the colonial state still considered them a single class. ButR realizing that the trade union by 1937 was still an exclusive Asian affair, Singh went set out to involve African workers in the labor movement. The African workers had organized isolated strikes in the past but Singh managed to convince them that a united non-racial approach was essential if the workers were to succeed in their demands. The cClass-consciousness was crucial in galvanizing and consolidating the struggle by labor against capital. In fact, Singh made trade unions very so formidable that the colonial administration devised ways to undermine and curtail their influence and powerregulating . For example, Ordinance No. 35 of 1939 required that all crafts organizations apply for registration that could be denied unless their dealings were considered “legitimate” by the state. Cancellation of registration under the ordinance was not subject to judicial review or appeal in a court of law.

Singh led workers to assert their right to strike, a key achievement in the struggle for labor and human rightsthe . By organizing and mobilizing workers to strike, Singh not only ensured the implementation of a cardinal right but also legitimized the right of workers to withdraw their labor as a of bargaining tooling. This effort contributed to ensuring full and universal respect for trade union rights in their broadest sense. This struggle and legacy reaffirmed that strike action s areis the most important and fundamental tool that the workers have against capital. Even so, the rigid control of trade unions that was maintained by the colonial colonial government persists to this dayuntil the end. Industrial confrontation arose not merely from traditional trade union activities, but also from the movement’s political role in the struggle for freedom from colonial domination, particularly after individual political leaders had been arrested and detained. This notwithstanding, the movement was able to grow both in numerical strength and power. That is how workers became the lone African voice in the colonial wilderness, challenging white supremacy, demanding independence, and defending the interests of the workers.

The legacy of Makhan Singh points to the centrality of trade unions as one of the major epicenters of democracy. Singh sought thatwanted workers to get organized on theirboth practical and strategic issues. The practical issues varied from housing, wages, working conditions, health, and and safety, among others. HoweverStrategically, he was conscious of the fact that political andcolonialism and crude capitalism were the key foundations for the privation of workers. imperialism That is why in 1950, Singh proposed a resolution urging complete independence and sovereignty of the East African territories as the only viable solution to suffering of the people. a legacy In tThis biography challenges, the trade unions in Kenya today. It should receive the challenge the awakening that forreminds workers that they must control and be central to the trade union movement if it is to succeed.organizing Indeed one of the major challenges toproblems in the trade Union union movement today is the chasm between the leadership of the trade union movement and the workers. Most unions are lead by individuals and oligarchicy groups whom which do not share the interests or the vision of the workers. This augurs very poorly for the future of democracy in Kenya. constitutions Kenyan workers must overthrow bumbling, corrupt, and compromised leaders if the legacy of Singh is to be kept alive.

Finally, we would like to congratulate Zarina Patel for her illuminating work on this towering Kenyan patriot. We know that writing a good book is a daunting task. But we believe that Patel has risen to this enormous challenge and written an account for the ages. This wonderful account also reminds us why it is critically important for Asians and Africans to tell their own stories. This is a book that every Kenyan – and particularly those still in school – must read.

* Steve Ouma is Deputy Executive Director of the Kenya Human Rights Commission; Makau Mutua is Chair of the Kenya Human Rights Commission.

* This article is the foreword to ‘Unquiet: The Life and Times of Makhan Singh’, by Zarina Patel, Nairobi: Awaaz, 2006. For further details, contact Awaaz Magazine, P O Box 32843 00600, Nairobi, Tel: 0722 344900, 0733 741085, Alternative email: zand.graphics (at) gmail.com

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